Programme Officer

This is an exciting opportunity to be a part of a growing and dynamic young organisation with an international footprint and facilitate scaleup in the UK. We are seeking a dedicated Programme Officer in particular to deliver playful learning opportunities to ease the transition and promte positive mental health for refugee and asylum-seeking children.

SCOPE OF WORK

The role will involve the following main areas of work:

1. Programme support and delivery:

• Liaising with partner organisation staff including other NGOs, schools, local authorities and Home Office staff

• Facilitate engaging workshops for children from refugee and migrant communities 

• Train volunteer cohorts to support session delivery

• Create and maintain a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment that

  encourages playful learning and creativity.

• Travel to sites (e.g. West Sussex hotel and council spaces) to deliver

  sessions as required.

• Support the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning function of the CfC projects, including conducting focus group discussions; facilitating workshops and generating project reports.

2. Fundraising and administrative support

• Research, identify, and apply for relevant grants from foundations, governmental agencies,

  and other sources.

• Prepare compelling grant proposals.

• Liaise with vendors and supporting logistics for programmes.

• Leverage local philanthropy through planning and implementing events and fundraising

  campaigns.

• Additional tasks to ensure smooth organisational operations as needed.

Person specification – essential criteria:

• Undergraduate degree or more, ideally in social sciences, education, social work, psychology or related field.

• Demonstrable previous in social work, international development or education, especially with children.

• Ability to work with a diverse range of people and in particular to be able to work with and

  engage children.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills.

• Self-starter, with strong organisational skills able to take initiative and work independently.

• Ability and willingness to perform fieldwork and commute to communities.

• Abilities to prioritise workload and manage multiple deadlines.

• Flexibility to adapt to and address the evolving needs of a small organisation.

• Enhanced DBS and understanding of safeguarding practices.

• Ability to liaise remotely via WhatsApp/Zoom/Skype.

Desirable criteria:

• Subject specific knowledge in education, child psychology or child development.

• Understanding of the UK social sector and ecosystem.

• Communication skills in an additional language (Pashto, Dari, Urdu desirable).

• Experience in budgeting and procurement.

• Good knowledge of Microsoft Excel.

About Us

Cities for Children (CfC) is a non-profit organisation that is working to support the learning and well-being of children living in urban poverty. CfC’s main goal is to protect the “right to childhood” – the right to read, to play, and to safety. We see, count and care about vulnerable children that few others currently serve, including those from refugee and migrant communities who settle on the margins of cities. Our programs help associate learning with joy and motivate children to stay in education. We create thoughtful and impactful programs under our Right to Childhood approach, weaving together three strands of work:

• The Right to Read: e.g. our Partners in Learning projects, involving playful learning sessions for early years based on a Child to Child school readiness model and Montessori principles. Our various iterations of the program have reached 4500 children in Pakistan and the UK.

• The Right to Play: our Happy Hoods structured recreation programmes, particularly engage cohorts of  volunteers to build socioemotional skills for street-connected children and contribute to communities.

• The Right to Feel Safe: capacity building in safeguarding and positive discipline.